Results

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico won all three doubles matches and took the first four singles matches in straight sets to defeat the University of South Alabama men’s tennis team 6-1 Sunday afternoon at the Linda Estes Tennis Complex.

The 59th-ranked Lobos end the Jaguars’ four-match win streak, the program’s longest since 2009.

“The overall score of 6-1 is not representative of the match,” said USA head coach Nick Brochu. “We fought well, but some of us had a hard time adapting to the different environment. Playing outside at sea level in humid weather is so different to high altitude indoor tennis. The New Mexico players played more aggressive and won the important points.”

New Mexico won with identical scores of 8-3 at Nos. 2 and 3 to earn the doubles point. Carl Ho and James Hignett defeated the team of Christian Kuehne (Morbach, Germany) and Cody Hall (Albuquerque, N.M.) on the No. 3 court, and the 16th-ranked pair of Jadon Phillips and Phil Anderson gave the Lobos the early lead at No. 2 over senior Hanno Bartsch (Pretoria, South Africa) and freshman Daniel Leitner (Niederfischbach, Germany).

“It was hard to adapt to the high altitude and playing inside a bubble,” Brochu said. “The ball travels very fast. New Mexico came out on fire in doubles and took the early lead on courts 2 and 3. We tried to fight back but it was too late.”

After taking the early lead in doubles, the Lobos won the next four singles matches to clinch the match.

Ho gave the Lobos a 2-0 lead with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Kuehne at No. 5 and Conor Berg made it 3-0 in favor of New Mexico after he defeated Hall 6-4, 6-2 on the No. 4 court.

Ben Dunbar clinched the match for UNM 6-4, 6-3 at No. 2 over junior Alex Bernard (Soisy Sur Seine, France). Phillips, the 81st-ranked player in Division I, extended the lead to 5-0 on the No. 1 court after a 6-4, 7-6 win over senior Romain Bocaert (Lille, France).

Leitner earned the Jags’ only point of the day at No. 3, outlasting Samir Iftikhar 2-6, 7-6, (10-3).

“In singles, we were able to control the speed of the match and we competed much better. Matches on courts 1, 2, 3, and 6 were very close.”

South Alabama returns home after splitting a pair of matches against ranked opponents and will host Southern Miss next Sunday at 10 a.m.

“Overall it was an excellent weekend,” said Brochu. “We came to New Mexico to play two powerful, ranked teams and we are going home with a great win. We played tough tennis and I'm sure it will help us for the rest of the season. We now have one week to rest and get ready for Southern Miss.”

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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